An "Aloha Elvis" theme at DANK Haus' Friday open house actually makes a certain kind of sense. View Full Caption

Flickr/Frank DiBona

LINCOLN SQUARE — DANK Haus, the German American cultural center, is hosting an "Aloha Elvis"-themed open house Friday and let's just say they've got some explaining to do.

Why Elvis?

Presley is most famously associated with Memphis and Las Vegas, but for a couple of years, Germans claimed him as one of their own. Between 1958 and 1960, Presley was stationed in then-West Germany while serving in the U.S. Army. It's where he met his future wife, a young Priscilla Beaulieu, and that marriage led to this:

Germans were no exception, which is why something called Toast Hawaii — available for purchase at DANK's open house — is apparently as classic a German comfort food as bratwurst.

[Cuisine Helvetica]

Recipes vary but the basic components of Toast Hawaii are this: toasted bread, processed cheese slices, canned pineapple slices and ham. Fancy versions include a cherry on top — smack in the center of the pineapple.